New Zealand’s PM Jacinda Ardern goes into isolation after exposure to COVID positive case

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern goes into isolation after exposure to COVID positive case, it emerges on Saturday.

Ardern, who is asymptomatic, is feeling well and will remain in self-isolation until Tuesday the government statement said.

As per the statement from the government, the exposure took place on Jan 22 during a flight to Auckland from the town of Kerikeri. 

The result of whole-genome sequencing was expected the following day, the statement added saying that would determine if the infection was caused by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

The governor-general and members of her staff, who were also onboard the flight, are following the same isolation procedure in line with the health ministry’s directives.

It was reported earlier this month that New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has postponed her own wedding due to the introduction of new Covid-19 restrictions linked to the Omicron variant.

The prime minister was rumoured to be planning to marry her longtime partner, fishing-show host Clarke Gayford, imminently.

“I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic and to anyone who’s caught up in that scenario, I am so sorry,” she said.

“My wedding will not be going ahead,” she added.

“Our plan for managing omicron cases in the early stage remains the same as delta, where we will rapidly test, contact trace and isolate cases and contacts in order to slow the spread,” the PM told reporters in Wellington on Jan 23.

The “red setting” of the country’s pandemic response includes heightened measures such as mask-wearing and limits on gatherings; the restrictions came into effect on Jan 24.